Some people think about it Ted Lasso as the beginning of an era of television where kindness reigns supreme, where a Kansan with a folksy tone can hand out a few books, stick up a “Faith” sign and rally a ragtag team. But as showrunner, Michael Schur has been there from the beginning and has invented one series after another that lovingly deals with the human condition. First, he absorbed the local administration and the feel-good camaraderie of his colleagues Parks and Recreation. Next he dealt with morality and explored its philosophical foundations The good place. (And he expanded on these concepts further in his book How to be perfect.) He then brought his themes of community and connection into law enforcement Brooklyn Nine-Nine. With his latest series and premiere for Netflix, A man insideSchur studies the loneliness epidemic among its most vulnerable population: the elderly. Despite the limitations of a season with eight 30-minute episodes can impress a sitcom, AMOTI is a sweet show with more heart than hilarious punchlines – and a winning cast to boot. And it will probably make you cry.

Based on the 2020 documentary by Maite Alberdi The Mole Agent, AMOTI follows a retiree who is used as a spy to investigate an expensive theft at a local assisted living facility. This scenario is well served by Ted Danson, who plays Charles Nieuwendyk, a kindly former engineer in San Francisco who has next to nothing to do after his wife dies of Alzheimer’s. His busy daughter Emily (Mary Elizabeth Ellis from It’s always sunny in Philadelphia), lives an hour away in Sacramento with her husband and three teenage sons, and Charles spends his days scanning the newspaper for interesting articles to clip and send to her. Encouraged by Emily to take up a hobby, he responds to a print advertisement for Kovalenko Investigations that he spots in the newspaper, and in just a few steps is welcomed as a new resident at the Pacific View Retirement Community.

Of course, the very charming Charles quickly becomes friends with everyone in the establishment (this is a Mike Schur show, after all), even though he was instructed to keep a low profile before entering the restaurant. This decision by Charles to disregard the demand to remain impersonal seems to be a decision that Schur himself often makes in his writings. While the common advice is to let bad things happen to the characters and put them through hell, Schur seems determined to maintain a gentler tone. Even if it attracts people in the truest sense of the word TGP In the “bad place” they find support and a family to rise above their circumstances. He keeps the nastiness to a minimum and instead focuses on the goodness of his characters – even if they are kind of idiots. For example, Parks and RecreationAndy Dwyer (Chris Pratt) went from evil boyfriend to desperate pit dweller to shoeshine boy at city hall and one half of one of the most famous couples in the Pawnee-verse as he courted April Ludgate (Aubrey Plaza) and brought out her silly side in the process.

But beyond celebrating the usefulness and redeeming qualities of his characters, AMOTI emphasizes the value of experiences in life. And it’s a safe bet that residents who deny themselves the joy of a big, luxurious purchase will forgo those debit cards to make their dreams come true. But this isn’t escapist nonsense like Live, Laugh, Love, Feel the Rain on Your Skin: this show reminds its audience that memory is fallible and life itself is fleeting. That’s kind of the perfect mood for a sitcom set in a retirement facility.

It’s also worth highlighting the show’s setting. San Francisco is a beautiful place with a scenic waterfront just a short drive from redwoods. Few cities would do that Visually make a better case for getting out and exploring while you still can, and the series makes good use of SF, although some nods to Bay Area main characters like the San Jose Sharks can feel a bit clunky and forced at times . (One thing, the show does What should be overlooked about San Francisco is its status as a countercultural center, particularly in terms of supporting the queer community. While Eleanor Shellstrop was vocally bisexual throughout the Schur series TGP, AMOTI plays in the US city with the The largest percentage of the population identifies as LGBTQ+ Yet none of his characters reflect this reality. Some appear to be coded as such, but the omission is noticeable. Hopefully this will be fixed in later seasons.)

Aside from this oversight, the portrayals of people from different walks of life seem accurate, if somewhat stereotypical. There’s the cigar-smoking curmudgeon with his sarcastic “Thanks, Obama” remarks and the horny, feisty old ladies (played by Sally Struthers and the radiant Margaret Avery).). Most gratifying are the teenage grandchildren who argue with their parents with things like, “Bro, why are you so obsessed with that hose?” Somehow these depictions of teenagers as somewhat distant and task-shy but non-judgmental come across. And the dynamic depicted goes beyond the “kids these days” punchline.

The show also offers some nice stylistic choices, including mid-century title cards and split-screen sequences where Charles is in spy mode. If these were used frequently they would be a bit over the top, but when used judiciously they serve as a nice nod to the genre as a whole. The home furnishings themselves are adorned with wallpaper and moldings authentic to such spaces, and costume details (like Charles’ pocket square and the flowing sweaters of facility manager Didi, played by the great Stephanie Beatriz) add depth to these characters and make them truly special they feel invigorated.

As the culture at large remains divided and more than a little mean, the appetite for heartwarming things is growing AMOTI will not be suppressed so quickly. And sitcoms for people over 70 can provide a rich landscape of emotions and subplots to explore. A man inside works because it balances its resonant, recurring themes of camaraderie and age with a fair amount of humor and, indeed, a lot of charm.

A man inside Premieres November 21st on Netflix